And more than 2000 of them went on one of 35 bus on a bus tours visited Cadia Valley Operations' mine - most of those visitors were from central west NSW, but some had travelled from as far afield as Queensland and Victoria.

Mine visitors gave a gold coin donation to hop on a bus and from what's been counted so far, about $4,000 was raised with those funds going towards Blayney Rotary's project for a replacement community bus.

The Blayney Festival, organised by Cadia representatives and other locals on the 'Making it Happen in Blayney' committee, featured more than 90 stalls, an art exhibition and competition, live music in the park, creative corner demonstrations and performances, free entry to CentrePoint Leisure centre pool and gym facilities.

Blayney Mayor Scott Ferguson said the event was successful and the "Blayney shire community can build on [it] in the years to come".

"The Blayney Festival was well supported by many local schools, businesses and charities and I received many positive comments from visitors outside our shire about how good the town of Blayney looked and how well organised the day was.

"Cadia Valley Operations has again proved how well they support our community and the open day gave everyone an opportunity to see how their operations work in the Cadia Valley.

"The art exhibition was of high quality and the whole day was enjoyed by many people throughout our region," he said.

CentrePoint offered discounts for new members and signed up 20 people, said manager Libbee Crisp.

Making it Happen committee chairperson Graeme Summerson said the Blayney Festival had run smoothly and was a success.

Mine visitors were treated to three stops on their tour, inspecting CVOs recent waste rock rehabilitation project, viewing a grinding circuit of the processing plant, and marvelling at the ever-popular mining machinery display.

CVO General Manager, Tony McPaul, said, "The Blayney Festival added many more dimensions to our traditional Open Day format and gave families a great reason to spend the day in Blayney.

"We also hosted our interactive mine display at Blayney, so visitors who didn't have time for the 2.5 hour mine tour, could still experience aspects of our operations. The truck and loader simulators were very popular as was the virtual underground tour.

"It is a fantastic family day and was very well supported by the community. We would like to thank everyone for coming along and supporting the day and continuing to support Cadia Valley Operations. 

" This day is not possible without more than 100 CVO employees who volunteered their time to assist on the day."

Mr McPaul said: "CVO has conducted regular Open Days since its commissioning in 1998. The open days are an important demonstration of our transparency and support for the local communities. They are also an opportunity for us to showcase the ingenuity and professionalism of our workforce and to thank them for a job well done.Open Days are held about every 18 months." 

To visit CVO outside of the open day, contact CVO Community Relations on 6392-2342.